Bulls ready to Rip and run... to a title?

Bulls ready to Rip and run... to a title?

Based on his past few seasons in Detroit, if you're not excited about the Bulls' looming addition of Richard Hamilton, that can be excused. Conversely, if you're most vivid memories of "Rip" are from his heyday with the championship-contending Pistons, it's understandable if you're pretty fired up about the veteran shooting guard potentially coming to Chicago.

But as for Hamilton's actual impact in the Windy City, expect the Coatesville, Pa. native to be rejuvenated as he's on a title contender -- as opposed to the past couple of lottery-bound, turmoil-ridden campaigns in Motown -- although it's unlikely that at 33-years-old (34 in February), he can match his prior All-Star level production. Nor is that necessary.

The 14.1 points per game he averaged last season was his lowest total since his debut year in the league, but on a Bulls team desperate for perimeter firepower, even slightly lower scoring numbers would be welcome. Hamilton is no longer quite the efficient shooter he once was, but his 38.2 percent shooting from three-point range a year ago (above his career 34.7 percent mark) would significantly help a team with few consistent deep threats, though it should be noted that the University of Connecticut product is a more of a mid-range specialist.

The spindly wing isn't necessarily the shot creator the Bulls seemed to lack alongside Derrick Rose last season, but his perpetual motion without the ball in his hands, a la Reggie Miller, is almost as effective as any dribble-breakdown artist, not to mention a severe irritant to opposing defenders who grow tired of the chase. Think about how Kyle Korver runs off screens for three-pointers: Hamilton would likely do much of the same, but unlike Korver, he's much more of a threat to put the ball on the floor and capitalize when the defense closes out too aggressively.

While it can't be argued that Hamilton is a superior individual defender than swingman Ronnie Brewer or erstwhile starter Keith Bogans -- if, for whatever reason, Hamilton doesn't come to Chicago, could the Bulls, faced with an increasingly shallow free-agent pool, decide to exercise their team option on Bogans by the fast-approaching Dec. 19 deadline? -- he's a solid team defender, having been part of one of the league's best units in recent memory in Detroit. Additionally, his toughness, experience, winning credentials (as Rose noted Sunday, he won an NCAA title at UConn and had to be pretty good to be recruited there in the first place, but unfortunately came up short during his high school days, losing a Pennsylvania state final in a showdown with some guy named Kobe) and perhaps most importantly, the respect factor that he brings to the table should benefit the Bulls immensely.

The acquisition of Hamilton alone might not be the move to put the Bulls over the hump -- with the loss of Kurt Thomas (who provided similar experience and toughness, along with a reformed enforcer's mentality, physical low-post defense, valuable pick-and-pop shooting and bone-crushing screens that were often the only way to free up Rose, aside from his own scintillating dribble moves), the organization's under-the-radar search for a replacement defensive-minded veteran big man with a semblance of scoring ability shouldn't be overlooked -- but it at least addresses several needs.

Regardless, Hamilton, expected to be in Chicago this week, assuming he clears waivers Wednesday, doesn't need to be a savior; there's already one of those on the team. He just needs to be Rip.

SportsTalk Live Podcast: Of Bulls and Blackhawks, which team will finish with higher draft pick?

USA TODAY

SportsTalk Live Podcast: Of Bulls and Blackhawks, which team will finish with higher draft pick?

There are 600,000 reasons you won't hear Gar, Pax or Hoiberg discuss losing

There are 600,000 reasons you won't hear Gar, Pax or Hoiberg discuss losing

The Bulls made headlines on Tuesday when VP John Paxson announced that David Nwaba, Cristiano Felicio and Cameron Payne would be entering the rotation, thus continuing the youth movement in Chicago.

On the surface the moves make sense. The 24-year-old Nwaba, the 25-year-old Felicio and the 23-year-old Cameron Payne will be replacing 28-year-old Justin Holiday, 29-year-old Robin Lopez and 25-year-old Jerian Grant. The Bulls want to see what they have in these younger players who haven't played much; they already know what they have in Lopez and Holiday, and Grant (like the other two) is under contract through next year.

OK, got that? Here's why they're making the move: they're sitting 8th in the NBA Lottery standings and really want to move into the top-5 to give themselves a chance at what should be a loaded front-end of the draft class. It's pretty obvious, and anyone who tells you otherwise is either named Gar Forman, John Paxson or Fred Hoiberg.

And here's why: On Wednesday Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined a whopping $600,000 by the NBA for comments he made on a podcast regarding tanking. The Mavericks are currently 18-40, the third worst record in the NBA. This comes a season after they finished 33-49, netting them the No. 9 pick that turned into talented point guard Dennis Smith Jr.

So when Cuban was asked about the best interests of his Dallas team, which touts young talent but clearly isn't headed for the postseason in 2018, he said this on the House Call with Dr. J Podcast:

"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but, like, I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night, and here we are, you know, we weren't competing for the playoffs. I was like, 'Look, losing is our best option. [Commissioner] Adam [Silver] would hate hearing that, but I at least sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans were going to be this summer, that we're not going to tank again. This was, like, a year-and-a-half tanking, and that was too brutal for me. But being transparent, I think that's the key to being kind of a players owner and having stability."

Cuban isn't wrong, and the Mavericks sure as hell aren't the only team tanking. But to come right now and admit that losing is the team's best option wasn't, as Cuban predicted, going to sit well with the league office.

Commissioner Adam Silver sent out a memo with the fine that said Cuban's comments "which concerned his perspective on the team's competitive success this season" were "detrimental to the NBA."

So while the Bulls are going about their business in trying to lose as many games down the stretch as possible, don't expect anyone to admit it's the reason behind their personnel moves. There are 600,000 reasons why.